Skip to main content
B
Bill Junk
Inspiring
February 9, 2025
Answered

What applications are people using to manage large collection of images?

  • February 9, 2025
  • 4 replies
  • 1824 views

For a long time I've been using Photoshop Elements Organizer to catalog and manage my large collection of photographic images.  I'm curious to hear what application other people are using.  I'm a Windows 11 user, make extensive use of Photoshop, Bridge and Adobe Camera Raw.  While I'm generally satisfied with the PSE Organizer (2022 version),  I'm always on the lookout for a cataloging application that might be better.  Any thoughts?

Correct answer Conrad_C
quote

I appreciate the feedback.  But with three responses and three different choices for a cataloging application there's hardly a clear choice.

By @Bill Junk

 

Some would see that as a good thing…that a single company actually offers multiple options depending on what a person focuses on, instead of just one option that has to try to do everything for everybody.

 

PSE Organizer is good for home/family/hobby organizing, and won’t overwhelm with power features for professionals.

 

Lightroom Classic is good for someone who needs a powerful catalog/database that can overcome many of the limitations of purely folder-based organization, wants advanced pro organizational features not often found in other applications, and who only needs to manage photos and sometimes videos.

 

Bridge is good for managing a wide range of file types for most Creative Cloud applications (photo, video, illustration, page layout, web design, visual effects…). Lacking a catalog, it can’t do some of the advanced things Lightroom Classic can, but as a pure folder browser it is also not tied to a catalog which to some people is a lot more important. 

 

The other answer is not be limited to just one choice. Because Lightroom Classic and Bridge have different strengths, I use whichever one is a better option for what I am doing at the moment. If I'm organizing Photoshop and Illustrator files for an InDesign project, I can’t use Lightroom Classic because it only organizes photos, so I must use Bridge, and it’s great for that. But for my photos, I strongly prefer Lightroom Classic.

 

And, of course, you can also choose to use a photo organizer from another company. There are several very popular choices for Windows.

4 replies

B
Bill JunkAuthor
Inspiring
February 17, 2025

I appreciate the feedback.  But with three responses and three different choices for a cataloging application there's hardly a clear choice.  I guess with my use of PSE Organizer there were four alternatives being used.  I will likely just continue on with PSE Organizer, mainly because it has a good set of features, has a pretty well defined and simple interface, and so far has been able to handle my photo inventory without any significant performance issues.  The only decision I need to make is whether or not to start using the 2025 version.  Right now I'm leaning toward staying with the 2022 version.  It has a perpetual license which is an advantage over a 3 year, forced upgrade license.

Conrad_C
Community Expert
Conrad_CCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
February 17, 2025
quote

I appreciate the feedback.  But with three responses and three different choices for a cataloging application there's hardly a clear choice.

By @Bill Junk

 

Some would see that as a good thing…that a single company actually offers multiple options depending on what a person focuses on, instead of just one option that has to try to do everything for everybody.

 

PSE Organizer is good for home/family/hobby organizing, and won’t overwhelm with power features for professionals.

 

Lightroom Classic is good for someone who needs a powerful catalog/database that can overcome many of the limitations of purely folder-based organization, wants advanced pro organizational features not often found in other applications, and who only needs to manage photos and sometimes videos.

 

Bridge is good for managing a wide range of file types for most Creative Cloud applications (photo, video, illustration, page layout, web design, visual effects…). Lacking a catalog, it can’t do some of the advanced things Lightroom Classic can, but as a pure folder browser it is also not tied to a catalog which to some people is a lot more important. 

 

The other answer is not be limited to just one choice. Because Lightroom Classic and Bridge have different strengths, I use whichever one is a better option for what I am doing at the moment. If I'm organizing Photoshop and Illustrator files for an InDesign project, I can’t use Lightroom Classic because it only organizes photos, so I must use Bridge, and it’s great for that. But for my photos, I strongly prefer Lightroom Classic.

 

And, of course, you can also choose to use a photo organizer from another company. There are several very popular choices for Windows.

B
Bill JunkAuthor
Inspiring
February 17, 2025

I do agree that it's nice that Adobe does provide options that suit different needs.  I can probably agree that a one-size-fits-all solution is not the best way to go.  The one point where I would disagree with your summary is on with the statement "PSE Organizer is good for home/family/hobby organizing..."  I've been a serious amature, moderately successful professional, and now back to a serious amature photographer.  PSE Organizer has done almost everything that I needed and I think in many ways is preferable for the kind of photography I do.  For awhile I've been trying to think of things that I would like to do with my image collection and can't do with the PSE Organizer.  I haven't really come up with anything.  My synopsis of it is that it has a rich set of features, is easy to use, and has a comfortable UI.

 

When I made my initial post, I was hoping that someone would suggest a cataloging system that I had never heard of before and that would give me a chance to see if it was any better than what I'm using now.  That never happened.  Fortunately I'm not in a bind and needing to find something else.

Bojan Živković11378569
Community Expert
Bojan Živković11378569Community Expert
Community Expert
February 10, 2025

My choice is Adobe Bridge because it provides everything I need: file info, search, preview, starring, labeling, a batch converter, and quick access to ACR, which I still prefer over Lightroom for smaller amounts of images.

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    February 9, 2025

    First of all, the most important thing is to have a logical folder tree on disk, with a structure that makes practical sense. Even if you can't remember where you saved a particular file, you know where it should be.

     

    From Adobe, the options are either Bridge or Lightroom Classic.

     

    My own experience with several machines over a long time, is that Bridge tends to be slow and cumbersome with very large archives. I have over 8TB of master PSD/PSBs (in addition to raw files and everything else), and Bridge struggles with that. The problem seems to be the organization of the Bridge cache. If it's a folder that hasn't been open for a while, it can take a long time to generate thumbnails.

     

    But Bridge has a bunch of extremely useful tools, like e.g. its infinitely flexible Batch Rename function.

     

    Lightroom Classic is a lot faster, and, despite being a catalog/database organizer, can be used as a file browser as long as the files have been imported (which you can do in bulk and is very fast). Then in addition it has keyword tagging and searchability, which is also extremely useful.

     

    I keep raw files and master PSD strictly separate, even on separate drives. That's just my preference. But for me, that means LrC is actually two applications in one. It's a processor for raw files, and an organizer for master PSDs.

     

    (at work we also use dedicated DAM software, Fotoware, which is both extremely efficient and extremely expensive 😉 ) 

      B
      Bill JunkAuthor
      Inspiring
      February 9, 2025

      I appreciate your feedback on the use of Lightroom Classic for cataloging images.  I do have a very logical (to me) directory tree structure that is organized in a way that I can easily find an image file using the Wildow File Explorer or an Open File command in Photoshop as long as I know what type of photo it was and where it was taken.  I have slightly over 2700 folders in my primary image tree.  I have LRC installed as part of my subscription, but have never really liked using it.  I much prefer Photoshop and therefore have never invested the time to see if the Library module would be better than what I get with the PSE Organizer.  The main advantage for me is that the PSE organizer is relatively simple to use and does provide the capabilities that I need 99% of the time.  I have had a few occassions when the Organizer managed to get its database/catalog slightly confused and it took some work to get it back to where it should have been.  I did buy the 2025 version thinkg that they might have fixed the issue but when I installed it I discovered they had made a font change to the UI which was probably good for most users but for me it made inefficient use of display space -- a lot of blank area taking up real estate.  So I'm still using the 2022 version.  I might go back and give LRC's Library module another try when I have a few hours to spare.

       

      Thanks again.

       

            Bill

      davescm
      Community Expert
      davescmCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      February 9, 2025

      I use Lightroom Classic. Its cataloguing is good and works across drives. It also has a good Develop module and then integrates well with Photoshop.

       

      I use it with a CC subscription, but it also comes as part of the Photography Plan subscription.

       

      Dave

        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
        Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices